Puerperal Diseases of the Uterus 543 



in water. There is a total absence of odor beyond that of 

 meat. There is no reaction of the endometrium. The desic- 

 cated blood adheres to it as closely as to the knife or to the 

 operator's hands. The cervical canal is unsealed, except in 

 the co-existence of pregnancy. 



It appears that with age further changes may occur, the 

 desiccation proceed further, and finally the hematoma be- 

 come fragile and, fracturing in places owing to visceral 

 movements, become tesselated in contour, as shown in Fig. 

 178. However, it still retains its resistance to putrefaction 

 and no fetor appears. , 



As a rule foreign bodies lying within the uterus inhibit 

 estrum and ovulation. I have had no opportunity to study 

 the uterine hematoma clinically, but in my collection there 

 is one example where a hematoma occupies one horn and an 

 apparently healthy embryo the other. This seems to me 

 conclusive proof that uterine hematoma does not always 

 inhibit ovulation. As I interpret the specimen, the hemor- 

 rhage into one horn, occurring shortly after the close of a 

 prior pregnancy, did not permanently fill the cavity of the 

 uterine body, and the cervical canal did not become sealed. 

 The presence of the hematoma did not inhibit estrum and 

 ovulation, and the way was left open for conception. I sus- 

 pect that this case is an exception to the rule and that gen- 

 erally the hematoma inhibits estrum and ovulation. 



The diagnosis of the type of uterine hemorrhage here de- 

 scribed appears to be comparatively simple. The cow calves 

 in a manner to attract no special notice. From the condi- 

 tions which existed in the two herds where I observed it, 

 the infection of the genitalia is intense, and logically the 

 parturition atonic and tardy. The fetal membranes pre- 

 sumably come away without material delay. As I under- 

 stand the condition, placentitis of that type causing placen- 

 tal incarceration is incompatible with this type of hemor- 

 rhage. I believe that the hemorrhage, as in menstruation, 

 and in the inter-placental hemorrhage with fetal desiccation, 

 comes wholly from the cotyledons, so that any placentitis 

 of a type causing stasis and thrombosis in the placental ves- 



